Analects 6.16
The Analects (論語), BOOK VI. YUNG YEY 雍也第六
子曰、質勝文則野、文勝質則史、文質彬彬、然後君子。
The Master said, "Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 質zhìessence, nature; material, substance
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 野yěfield, open country; wilderness
- 史shǐhistory, chronicle, annals
- 彬bīnornamental; cultivated, refined, well-br
- 然ráncertainly; naturally; suddenly
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.